Extended virtual table: an optical extension for table-like projection systems
First Claim
1. A virtual environment system comprising:
- apparatus for producing a virtual environment on a projection plane;
a planar mirror, the planar mirror being of substantial size relative to the projection plane and being positioned relative to the projection plane such that the plane of the mirror intersects the projection plane and the angle of the mirror relative to the projection plane is such that a user of the system who looks at the mirror sees the projection plane reflected therein; and
a tracker that tracks the position and orientation of the eyes of a user of the virtual environment system, the apparatus for producing the virtual environment receiving a current position of the mirror and producing a first virtual environment on the projection plane when the tracker indicates that the user is looking at the mirror and a second virtual environment on the projection plane when the tracker indicates that the user is looking at the projection plane.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus that uses a large transflective mirror to extend a virtual reality system such as a virtual table that employs a projection plane to produce the virtual reality. The transflexive mirror is positioned relative to the projection plane such that the plane of the mirror intersects the projection plane and the angle of the mirror relative to the projection plane is such that the user of the system who looks at the mirror sees the projection plane reflected in the mirror. The virtual reality system is responsive to the position of the mirror and the direction in which a user is looking and produces separate virtual realities on the projection plane: one when the user is looking at the mirror and another when the user is looking at the projection plane The virtual reality that the user sees when looking at the mirror may or may not be coherent with the virtual reality that the user sees when looking at the projection plane. The two virtual realities may share a global coordinate system that is divided into two parts by the plane of the mirror, and what tile user sees when looking into the mirror may be what the user would see looking through a window Into the part of the global coordinate system behind the mirror. Because the mirror is transflective, real objects whose locations are known to the virtual reality system can he placed behind the mirror and the virtual reality reflected in the mirror may be used to augment the real objects. One use of such augmentation is virtual trial assembly of a virtual mockup with a physical mockup.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A virtual environment system comprising:
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apparatus for producing a virtual environment on a projection plane;
a planar mirror, the planar mirror being of substantial size relative to the projection plane and being positioned relative to the projection plane such that the plane of the mirror intersects the projection plane and the angle of the mirror relative to the projection plane is such that a user of the system who looks at the mirror sees the projection plane reflected therein; and
a tracker that tracks the position and orientation of the eyes of a user of the virtual environment system, the apparatus for producing the virtual environment receiving a current position of the mirror and producing a first virtual environment on the projection plane when the tracker indicates that the user is looking at the mirror and a second virtual environment on the projection plane when the tracker indicates that the user is looking at the projection plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification